Castles in the Sand

When you were a kid, did you ever build a sand castle? Do you know one reason why you probably got it done? You didn't allow yourself to become paralyzed by whether or not your project was specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. You probably didn't have anyone standing over your shoulder asking if you were done yet. Asking that is, minus any hands-on, support or intellectual help.

Chance are, you might have been on the beach one day and got the idea to build that sand castle. You checked out other kids' sand castles. A picture of a castle began to appear in your mind. You put your thoughts in order and began to build. If something didn't look right, you changed it. Friends came by and suggested you might want to add a moat. You listened and then built the moat. You checked to make sure that the castle's walls were strong. You trimmed away rough edges and put the finishing touches on it. You felt pretty darn good after you finished.

When it comes to innovating, making things better - whether it's relationships, physical appearance, hobbies or stuff at work, we need to be kids again. We need to jump in and do it. It's okay to name things in our process. It's okay to use words like design, design intent, research, concept, prototype, build, test, feedback and modify. But we're not going to get too rapped up in the language. The intent is to get things done.